THE EAGLE. Forty-seven minutes to go up, a little less to go down. The first evaluation of the shuttle bus service, which debuted yesterday, called to replace the Gran Sasso cable car, takes into account the considerable increase in time. Despite the requirements of Ansfisa, the body that supervises the cableways, the cableway never took more than 7 minutes to travel the 3 kilometers from Fonte Cerreto to Campo Imperatore. Today, with the cable car blocked waiting for the supporting cables to be replaced (a stop of at least 9 months) those who want to quickly climb to Campo Imperatore will necessarily have to rely… on the helicopter. The issue of the aircraft, obviously, only applies to the rescue teams called to intervene in the event of an accident in the mountains. From this point of view, the lack of a cable car extends the rescue time in case of bad weather, an eventuality that will have to be taken into account in the future.
THE SHUTTLE SERVICE
The mobility sector of the Municipality has entrusted Ama, the municipal transport company, with organizing the shuttle bus service from Fonte Cerreto to Campo Imperatore and vice versa. Yesterday morning the service started with some initial stumbles. The bus arrived for the first run, initially scheduled for 8.30 am, and it was then discovered that the holiday runs on Saturday and Sunday had to be brought forward to 8. Not bad, the leaden sky of yesterday morning was not inviting certainly on a mountain excursion. And in fact the first trips were almost deserted, with just two users. Brave ski mountaineers who, however, a couple of hours later, sent their friends who remained at Fonte Cerreto a video while they were skiing accompanied by the subtitle “what did you miss…”. At 12 three students, all not from L’Aquila, get on. Martina, from Turin, is the only one studying in the city, the other two, Isa from Modena and Alessia originally from Basilicata, came from Rome to visit her friend. “If we can’t do the excursion,” they smile happily anyway, “then we’ll stop and eat.” A stop in Fonte Cerreto to test the atmosphere among the traders, where in general the shuttle bus is seen as a positive, indeed necessary, thing. «If the summer season stops here it will close». It would be useful to move the ticket office to the Fonte Cerreto Infopoint, they suggest. Furthermore, the bus can only carry 21 people and two bikes. A little bit. Improved solutions are needed.
ENJOY THE LANDSCAPE
For those who are used to traveling by car or cable car, traveling by bus holds a pleasant surprise. The landscape, still barren from the spring that hasn’t arrived yet. But the spectacle of a sulking Campo Imperatore is, objectively, priceless. And motorists, campers, motorcyclists and cyclists know this well, as they stop along the road to document the awakening of the mountain with their cell phones. There are motorcyclists, like the two friends who left from Bari, who take a photo with the Observatory in the background.
AT CAMPO IMPERATORE
It’s not full here, the tourists are arriving anyway and Grazia, Melissa and Alfredo, from the Campo Imperatore Hostel, run left and right while people wait for the kebabs outside. “They have been two strange seasons,” they say. «The snow arriving late and now the cable car is closed». But they resist. The hotel in Campo Imperatore is cordoned off for renovation work which is expected to last another two years.
HIS MAJESTY THE GREAT SASSO
The clouds clear and the Corno Grande appears. A vision that alone is worth the 9 euro ticket (8 on weekdays).
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